Aeroflot Group reports a net loss for the first half

Aeroflot Group (Aeroflot Russian Airlines) (Moscow) today (August 31) published its consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2015, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards:

“In the first half of 2015, Aeroflot Group strengthened its position as the leader in the Russian air transportation market with 14.0% year-on-year growth in passenger traffic and a 5.8 percentage point increase in market share. This was driven by strong operational performance at Aeroflot airline and the successful roll-out of Russia’s first low-cost carrier, Pobeda, which has quickly become one the top airlines in the country. The Group also benefited from changes in the competitive landscape, taking market share from foreign carriers that decreased frequencies on a number of routes as well as less efficient Russian peers.

“Our focus on the high-growth domestic market paid off with strong increases in Group traffic, which drove revenue up 25.8% year-on-year to RUB 176.5 billion, while strict cost control reined in growth of operational expenses despite exchange rate volatility. As a result, in the first half of 2015 Aeroflot Group posted an operating profit of RUB 5.9 billion; EBITDA and EBITDAR also rose, and the EBITDA and EBITDAR margins increased 3.9 and 6.9 percentage points to 7.5% and 18.8%, respectively.

“The Group focused on fleet optimization, cost-cutting, boosting efficiency of business processes and financial management, and maintaining a robust financial position. We are confident our policy of expanding our presence on the growing Russian market, maintaining customer loyalty and increasing business efficiency will enable continued growth in the Group’s profitability as the Russian economy recovers.”

In 1H 2015, Aeroflot Group’s revenue increased by 25.8% year-on-year to RUB 176,467 million, primarily as a result of an increase in revenue from Scheduled passenger flights and Other revenues.

Revenue from scheduled passenger flights in 1H 2015 increased by 30.0% year-on-year to RUB 144,087 million, boosted by 14.0% growth in passenger traffic year-on-year. Revenue from charter flights decreased by 71.0% to RUB 2,075 million, due to the Group’s strategy to decrease its presence in this market segment, as well as overall market dynamics in tourism traffic.

Despite a 1.0% decrease in the volume of cargo and mail carried in 1H 2015, cargo revenue increased 16.3% year-on-year on the back of stronger yields.

Other revenues increased by 39.9% year-on-year to 25,863 million, mainly driven by an increase in FX-denominated revenues from airline agreements following changes in the exchange rate.